Eurotopics.net

Taiwan will hold parliamentary and presidential elections on Saturday, amid growing pressure from China. The ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) with Vice President Lai Ching-te as its candidate is ahead in the polls, but its lead is shrinking. The largest opposition party, the Kuomintang (KMT), advocates a more conciliatory approach towards Beijing. The Taiwan People's Party (TPP) seeks a middle course.

The investigation into the storming of the US Congress building on 6 January 2021 is still ongoing three years after the event. In February, the Supreme Court will decide whether the exclusion of then President Donald Trump from the current primaries in two states - based on his role in the riot - is legal. How has the event impacted US democracy?

Starting today, Monday, German farmers are protesting against the German government's planned subsidy cuts with various blockade actions. Although Germany's traffic-light coalition (of the Social Democratic Party, Free Democratic Party and the Greens) has already withdrawn some of its plans for cutbacks, farmers are still demanding that tax breaks on agricultural diesel remain in place. Not all commentators sympathise with the protest.

Tensions are still running high in the Middle East: the fighting between Israel and the Lebanese Hezbollah continues, as does Israel's battle against Hamas in Gaza. Shortly before the weekend, the Sunni terrorist militia Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for an attack that left more than 90 people dead at a memorial service for Qassem Soleimani in Kerman, Iran. The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned of an escalation in the region.